MyHeritage Review

Overview

MyHeritage is one of the largest providers of DNA testing kits and family historical record tracking in the market. Their pricing is competitive and their kits are simple to use. Offering services to both DNA and family history, the amount of personal information one can gain from MyHeritage is comprehensive. Its trove of information will satisfy those from the budding family historian to the true genealogical expert.

Ideal For

Finding out more about yourself, including your ethnic group and geographical region of origin

Looking for long-lost relatives

Completing your family tree

Looking for paternity answers

Pros

Largest international network of family trees

Over 1 million people in DNA datatbase

Combines both DNA results and family tree analysis

The largest pool of possible ethnicities in the industry

42 languages

8 billion historical records make MyHeritage the leader in DNA and family tree analysis

One of least expensive on the market

Free mobile app

Cons

Results can be fairly broad

Results tend to be better for multi-ethnic users

Not much search detail without paid subscription

Why Go With MyHeritage

MyHeritage provides a powerful offering that brings the best of 2 worlds – cutting edge DNA testing, as well as market-leading family tree services. Choosing the MyHeritage DNA kit enables users to find out a whole lot about themselves–from geographical regions and ethnic groups that make up who they are, to putting other parts of the puzzle together in terms of their ancestors, their family tree, and even finding long-lost relatives. The price is better than most of the other kits on the market, providing real value for money. MyHeritage does not offer health reports, however it does provide information both on origins and ethnicity, as well as offering more substantial information on recent ancestors.

What’s on Offer

Features of the MyHeritage kit include:

Simplicity and ease-of-use

Quick and easy online activation

Percentage-based Ethnicity Estimate

42+ ethnic regions, some of which are exclusive to MyHeritage

More focused ethnicity specifics than other main-market solutions

Great experiential results including animations and soundtrack

Easy integration with other MyHeritage features (some of which require additional payment)

Access to MyHeritage’s massive database of entries (and 90 million current users) for wide-ranging insights

Over 8 billion historical documents, 300 million photographs, 34 million family trees and 2.1 billion names in family trees

Includes vital records from 48 countries, military and immigration records, 1790-1940 USA Census, 1841-1911 England & Wales Census, and over 450,000 history-related English books containing over 91 million pages

What’s unique about the MyHeritage DNA testing kit is that besides the DNA breakdown or ethnicity estimate, you also get to find out more about your ancestors and your family tree, based on your DNA results. Ethnicity Estimate provides MyHeritage DNA customers with a percentage-based estimate of their ethnic origins covering 42 ethnic regions In addition, the Ethnicity Estimate will be provided for free to users who have already uploaded their DNA data to MyHeritage from other services, or who will upload it in the coming months. Users who upload their DNA data to MyHeritage, already enjoy free DNA Matching - and is now free to contact your DNA matches, and now they will benefit from the new ethnicity analysis too.

The results make use of the millions of entries in the MyHeritage database to give a much fuller, richer picture of who you are and where you come from.

Speaking of fuller, richer pictures, the way that the information is presented is beautiful and quite unique. MyHeritage provides its “Ethnicity Estimate” with a captivating “reveal” experience; featuring fun animations and music specific to your ethnic and geographical background, all of which keeps you in suspense as information about you is revealed.

MyHeritage now offers access to the BillionGraves database of death records and gravestone photos. The site includes a healthy collection of international records, such as Irish censuses, Swedish parish records, and Dutch vital records.

DNA Matching

In 2016 MyHeritage launched a new product called DNA Matching. With this product, you can upload any previous DNA data from other major brands and MyHeritage will match your DNA within the database that has over 1 million profiles, all free of charge. MyHeritage has also recently improved its DNA Matching feature, so your report will have:

Improved accuracy

10x as many matches

More specific relationship estimates

DNA Match confidence levels, to help focus your research

And it is now FREE to contact your DNA matches

Paternity Testing

One of MyHeritage's main advantages over other tests is its vast database-with over 2.7 billion profiles-which means that most people are almost guaranteed to find some sort of familial match. Another way to use this database is for paternity testing. MyHeritage is different in that it was not made specifically for paternity testing, but might even be better than the competing paternity test brands.

The way to use MyHeritage kits for paternity testing is by either purchasing 2 kits-1 for alleged father and 1 for child-or, if either of the 2 parties already has DNA testing results from another major brand, they can simply upload their results to the MyHeritage database for free and the site will do the matching.

You need not worry about the price of 2 kits either. 2 MyHeritage DNA kits costs about the same amount as 1 paternity testing DNA kit, and the results are just as accurate as the other major brands.

More Reasons to Choose MyHeritage

For the competitive price and extensive features offered, the MyHeritage DNA kit comes highly recommended. The MyHeritage company leads the genealogy space, with millions of users, 2.1 billion family tree profiles, and 8.2 billion historical records. So it was only natural for the company to expand into the DNA testing space—and it has done so successfully—providing a great all-round solution that’s also affordable and compares favorably with other kits on the market. With millions trusting MyHeritage for family tree information, its DNA testing solution is also gaining traction and positive reviews as the company seems to be rolling out more and more impressive features.

The MyHeritage report gives both an Ethnicity Estimate—a comprehensive breakdown of your unique DNA composition—and DNA Matches, a technology that compares data from DNA tests results and family trees to identify matches between users that share genetic sequences, and that indicate a family relationship.

Genealogy Test Results

We tested the search using one very famous name and one obscure name of a relative. We searched for information on Harry S Truman (1884-1972), the 33rd president of the United States. The query brought back more than 2 million results from 673 records collections. The first results page had the correct Truman listings for the 1920, 1930 and 1940 U.S. Census, but nothing for 1910. There were 4,921 photographs returned. All of the images in the first five pages of results showed old “give ‘em hell, Harry.” More than 1.1 million newspaper references provided a massive array of articles. We also ran the search using the name of a relative who died in 1948. The initial search returned 625,349 results in 448 collections (we ran the search allowing for variations in surname spelling). The first results page had correct listings for the 1940, 1920 and 1910 U.S. Census. Newspaper results showed more than 600 references on newspaper pages. The books search brought back even a couple of obscure references from the Official Register of the United States, showing the relative’s service as a U.S. postal worker. The photo results, however, included no accurate matches among the first five pages. This most likely means no other MyHeritage users had posted photographs of this person.

Ease of Use

The MyHeritage kit is really simple to use.

Upon receiving the kit, sign up online, which takes about 3 minutes

Then take one of the enclosed cheek swabs, and gently scrape the inside of your cheek for 30-60 seconds

Place the swab into one of the plastic vials supplied, which “deposits” the swab inside

Close the vial, and repeat with the second swab on the other cheek

Place the 2 vials in the clear plastic bag, then seal the bag inside the envelope

Place stamp and address on envelope, send it off, and that’s it

The application process on the website is really straight-forward, and only asks for basic information. This also means you don’t have to prepare any other documentation, or go digging through your files or online records. You login with your MyHeritage details (it’s really simple to sign up) and enter the unique number that comes with your kit (on the bottom side of the vials, or at the back of the kit package).

Speed of Kit Delivery and Results

Once you’ve ordered your MyHeritage DNA kit, you can track the your order from the moment you make your purchase, and then all the way through the entire process. Simply click the “Manage DNA kits” link on the MyHeritage site, and you’ll see the tracker. You’ll get constant updates (for example “Order placed,” or “Kit has been shipped”) and you can click through for even more detail.

The kit takes about a week and a half to arrive, but usually quicker. Once you’ve completed the test and sent it off to the lab, results take around 4-6 weeks. Once they’re in, you’ll receive an email notification, and you’ll be able to see all your results on the MyHeritage website.

DNA Test Type

Report Features

Downloadable DNA data that can be used on other web sites such as gedmatch.com

The report starts off by indicating your ethnicity breakdown (for example, 73.2% Balkan, 12% English, etc.), which provides a helpful overall picture. It then allows you to delve deeper into these results and what they mean; showing maps, ancestral lines, and explanatory notes. It provides you with DNA matches to possible relatives, and you’ll get updates when new relatives are found. All of this is presented with easy-to-follow diagrams showing how the various relatives fit together, especially the various possible types of cousin, which can be confusing to those new to family trees. It further identifies people with other common characteristics, including shared surnames. The information on ancient migration routes was more sparse than with some other tests on the market, but the focus of this test is primarily on an individual’s origins and family tree.

Customer Support

Customer support at MyHeritage is impressive, and the company has a reputation for its speed and depth of responses. The website provides a huge bank of questions and answers—you can type in a question and chances are it will appear, along with a comprehensive and simple to follow answer, complete with screenshots. There are specific toll-free customer care lines to call for various countries, and an active social media presence that includes Facebook and YouTube, where you can see new features, and demonstrations of how the product works. Support is 24/7.

Pricing

DNA Testing Kit

Full Price

Current Offer

Shipping & Handling

$99

$59

$12

*Last updated: January, 2018

Pricing is one of the lowest on the market, at $99, with specials offered from time to time. Payment is secure, as you would expect it to be, and all that is required is to log in or create an account at MyHeritage, which requires the most basic information.

MyHeritage Family Tree

Premium

Premium Plus

Complete

Annual Subscription

$110

$175

$250.80

For those able to pay the annual fee, MyHeritage has several reasonably priced options, including Premium ($110 USD), Premium Plus ($175 USD) and Complete ($250.80 USD). The Premium option, however, is fairly limited in functionality in comparison to the other two plans. The site does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Summary

The MyHeritage DNA kit offers both “regular” ethnicity DNA results that many kits offer, as well as unique DNA results that can tell you much more about who you are and where you come from, including fitting you into your family tree and finding relatives you may not have known about-as well as paternity testing. All of this is in a well designed product that’s easy to use, offers value for money, and provides a great informative experience. With its attractive interface, impressive data resources and decent list of extras, MyHeritage has found its place among the elite genealogy and DNA testing sites.

About MyHeritage

MyHeritage was founded in 2003 by CEO Gilad Japhet. It has since grown into a global company with around 90 million users across 196 countries, with 340 employees and offices in Israel, North America, and Europe.

Physical Address

3 Ariel Sharon

Or Yehuda

Israel

Contact Details

Toll-free number: +1 877 432 3135 (USA)

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9.8

Our Score

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